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GREYHAWK: The Golden Era CY963: A1-P1-S2 [RESTORED CAMPAIGN THREAD]
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<blockquote data-quote="Tellerian Hawke" data-source="post: 6895113" data-attributes="member: 6790669"><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>Summary of the Campaign Thusfar:</strong></span></p><p></p><p><strong>1. </strong>The party came together quite by accident, just before dawn on Patchwall 9, CY 963, in a basement tavern known as <em><strong>The Godless Rogue</strong></em>.</p><p></p><p><strong>2.</strong> There was a bar fight, in which many patrons, as well as the tavern owner himself, died as a result of swordplay. The party, of course, was swept up into the middle of it all.</p><p></p><p><strong>3.</strong> <strong>Vega</strong>, the barmaid, joined the party, seeing no future for herself if things were left as-is.</p><p></p><p><strong>4.</strong> The party meets <strong>Pallender Nightwind</strong>, and they are promised future employment.</p><p></p><p><strong>5.</strong> The party decides to turn in <strong>Alec </strong>and <strong>Alwin</strong> for the bounty on their heads.</p><p></p><p><strong>6.</strong> On their way to turn them in, the party encounters <strong>5 pirate crewmen</strong> who are friends of Alec and Alwin; a brawl ensues, out in the open, on the streets of Dyvers!</p><p></p><p><strong>7.</strong> The party spends a little time sorting things out, and talking to the city guard. They are introduced to <strong>Lieutenant Benquist</strong>, second-in-command of the Dyvers City Watch.</p><p></p><p><strong>8. </strong>The party heads to Dewydd's mansion, <strong>Moresby Hall</strong>, just outside of the city proper, through the West Gate.</p><p></p><p><strong>9.</strong> The party meets and befriends <strong>Sylvar Belanor</strong>, a wayward bard; Sylvar joins the party.</p><p></p><p><strong>10.</strong> Vega tells her story. <strong>(See below.)</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>11.</strong> The party meets and befriends <strong>Lathir The Wild</strong>, a wandering druid. Lathir joins the party.</p><p></p><p><strong>12.</strong> The party goes back to Dyvers on Sylvar's recommendation, to see if they can find members of <strong>The Seven of Steel</strong>, who have reportedly suffered badly in their recent expedition to the<strong> Village of Skorane.</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>13. </strong>The party finds the leader of the Seven, a Dwarf known as <strong>Maxwell Silverhammer</strong>. Maxwell shares his story with the party. <strong>(See below.)</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>14.</strong> The party decides to help escort Maxwell to the <strong>Village of Caltaran</strong>. Once there, they hope to recruit <strong>Vale Stonegallows</strong> to help them.</p><p></p><p><strong>15.</strong> The party has two encounters on the way to Caltaran; the first is a pair of <strong>Manticores</strong> being ridden by <strong>Fiendish Orcs</strong>, wearing <strong>Pomarj </strong>insignia. The second is with a lone assassin named <strong>Vaelik The Deathblade</strong>, who was masquerading as <strong>Sheriff Denby Fairweather</strong>.</p><p></p><p><strong>16. </strong>The party arrives in Caltaran, where they meet up with Vale Stonegallows, who offers to cast <strong>Speak With Dead</strong>, so that they can attempt to find out more about their slain enemies.</p><p></p><p></p><p>[gm]</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong><span style="font-family: 'arial'">A FEW FACTS ABOUT CALTARAN:</span></strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong></strong></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'arial'"><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>1.</strong></span> <span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>A patrol of 40 Dyvers Regulars (Cavalry) comes through town every third day. </strong></span>The patrol is led by a well-known Cavalier named <strong>Sir Lawrence Hartford</strong>, aka "The Fierce Lieutenant."</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'arial'"><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>2.</strong></span> <span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>The town is walled, with a low, 6-foot high, wooden palisade,</strong></span> but the gates are usually open around the clock. There are two gates, a northern gate, and a southern gate.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'arial'"><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">3. There is one, around-the-clock law enforcement officer here: </span>Sheriff Sir Denby Fairweather</strong>; Sir Denby maintains an office on the main street. It is a two-story building; the first floor is his office, and a 3-cell jail. The second floor is his personal apartment. Sir Denby concerns himself mainly with the oversight and patrol of the surrounding farms, while relying on his deputies to run things in-town.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'arial'"><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>4.</strong> </span><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Sir Denby is served by 10 full-time (sun-up to sun-down) deputies, all of whom are young and green.</span> These deputies live in town. </strong>They conduct daily patrols, and are charged with maintaining order on a day-to-day basis. They are rarely at the gate; they concern themselves more with patrolling the village's interior streets.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'arial'"><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>5.</strong></span> <span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>There are about</strong> <strong>200 locals</strong></span> (men between the ages of 16 and 40) who are part of a <strong>reserve volunteer militia</strong>, whom can be called on in times of crisis. Most live in the village, but about 30 or so live on one of the many surrounding farms.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'arial'"><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">6. </span><span style="color: #0000ff">Caltaran has a reputation for being quiet and peaceful.</span></strong>It is home to a large <strong>church of Saint Cuthbert</strong>, which is run by a <strong>Patriarch of Cuthbert</strong> known as <strong>Father Xavier</strong>. The church is also home to <strong>The Order of the Flaming Mace</strong>, an order of knights who serve St. Cuthbert. There are 120 of these knights, who are very well-equipped, including 60 heavy warhorses with chainmail barding, and they have sworn to protect the village in times of need. Since the church (which is a veritable mini-fortress, occupying 2 whole acres of land inside the village) is located near the center of the village (within easy distance of either main gate) Sir Denby does not feel the need to post gate guards. Sometimes, Knights of the Flaming Mace can be seen around town, going about their business.<em><strong> It is the presence of these knights (not Denby or his deputies, nor the reserve militia, nor the Dyvers Patrols) which makes the citizenry feel truly safe.</strong></em> (Although the Dyvers Patrol is a v</span><span style="font-family: 'arial'">ery capable force, which has run down many outlaws in the past.)</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'arial'"><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>7.</strong> </span><span style="color: #0000ff"><em><strong>Despite the presence of the deputies, and of the knights</strong></em>,</span> roughly half of the businesses in town employ private security forces, "just in case." What this translates to is that when you walk into a place of business, you might see a lone, armored guard standing just inside the doors.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: 'arial'"><span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>8.</strong></span> <span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Things to do in Caltaran:</strong></span> there is a farmer's market which is open one day per week (every Freeday,) from sun-up 'til </span><span style="font-family: 'arial'">noon</span><span style="font-family: 'arial'">. There is one inn, one livery stable, one general store (food and tools), one blacksmith, one butcher, one baker, one jeweler, one leather tanner, one horse trainer, one dog trainer (who sells guard dogs), one tavern, one corral (where local beef ranchers bring their stock to sell), one tailor shop, one wainwright, two boot-makers, three restaurants, and one weaponsmith. There are also *many* small-scale, "carnival booth" antique / curiosity dealers, cart vendors (fruits and vegetables), and "street spoons" serving prepared food (basically, the medieval equivalent of hot dog vendors.)</span></p><p></p><p>[/gm]</p><p></p><p>[gm]</p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Important Campaign History: The Sergeant's Comment.</strong></span></p><p></p><p><strong>Sergeant (To Vega):</strong><span style="color: #ff0000"> "Hmmm. This is very interesting. Thanks for the tip. Ya know, there's more than two Follsworth brothers; there's actually five of them: Algron, Andar, Artael, Alec, and Alwin. These two are the youngest. No one has seen Algron in a long while, but Andar and Artael already lead a large gang of outlaws, who have been operating in the Kron Hills region, raiding merchant traffic from Verbobonc to Dyvers. They're known to employ humanoids, Hobgoblins and the like. I suspect these two were in charge of expanding the operation here to Dyvers. If that's so, then their brothers are likely to come looking for them. I'll tell the captain to place these two in solitary, on the third level. You folks have done well. The City of Dyvers is in your debt."</span></p><p>[/gm]</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>[gm]</p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Important Campaign History: Vega's Story.</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong></strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong></strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH]76798[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p><strong>Vega sighs, knowing this moment was coming. But she seems almost relieved to finally have a chance to speak her peace:</strong> <span style="color: #ff0000">"My name is Vega Claessdatter. I am the daughter of a <strong>Fruztii </strong>Shaman known as Claes Larsson. For those that don't know, the Fruztii peoples are known by common parlance as 'Northmen,' or as 'Frost Barbarians," neither name of which my people approve. We hail from the *Great Middan Lands*, known as 'The Frozen North,' in common parlance, again, not a name that my people appreciate being saddled with. The peoples that you call the 'Ice, Snow, and Frost Barbarians,' are actually the Cruski, Schnai, and Fruztii peoples, respectively. But these are tribal names, which refer to the region in which each group of peoples live. We are all Cimmerian, proud descendants of Cromm, The Lost Brother of Odin."</span></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Vega pauses a moment, assessing the looks that she is getting from the rest of the party; seeing that she has your attention, and that no one has yet balked at her heritage, she continues:</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">"I grew up learning to ride, hunt, fish, swim, ride, and handle horses. My father taught me an affinity for the Earth, and for the Sky, the two places where he said that magic truly came from. My father taught me to respect the ways of Odin; but he said even the gods themselves get their magic from the Earth and from the Sky. Odin gained his ability to foresee the future from the World Tree (an aspect of the Earth, or 'Middangeard') after hanging himself from its branches. <strong>The Weave</strong> is the force of magic, and it flows from the Earth, and into the Sky, permeating the world. My father taught me how to read our ancestral Fruztii runes, and how to connect to magical totems through the Kul'Tuk, which means "the merging of the mind with The Weave." By "merging" with an item, I can sometimes figure out how the item works, and how to invoke its power. I have already become quite good at doing so."</span></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Vega takes a deep breath; it is evident that she has reached the 'difficult part' of what she has to say:</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">"When my father died of old age, I journeyed to my cousin Hrothgar's village, in hopes of joining the family there. But Hrothgar, who was also a shaman, was jealous of my natural ability with The Weave, and sold me into slavery, after drugging my mead. I was only 15 years old,"</span> <strong>she says, with a tear in her eye.</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">"I ended up as a concubine for a greedy merchant from Ket, known as Habib Ibn Khalad, and I was with him for many years. Fortunately, Habib's harem was so large, that he never actually had the chance to lie with me. This was partly due to the fact that he had purchased me for use by his son, who had not yet come of age."</span> <strong>You can feel the seething bitterness coming from Vega as she says this, although there is also an undertone of thankfulness, since the powers that be spared her the fate of being raped. Still, it is evident from her tone, that the time she spent in the harem was not pleasant, nor was it easy. After all, slavery is still slavery, no matter how one cuts it.</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">"Before I could be abused in that way, I managed to escape, with the aid of a Dwarven merchant named Elgin Coalbeard, who had been visiting Lopolla on business. I stayed with him for several years, working as a servant, and he treated me quite well. When I asked to leave his employ, he graciously agreed, and gave me 200 gp. with which to make a new start. It was while I was in Elgin's employ that I learned to speak Dwarvish."</span></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Vega pauses again to compose herself, before continuing:</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">"I journeyed with Elgin until reaching Dyvers, where I decided quite foolishly to make my new start. I was 22 when I arrived in Dyvers, seeking my fortune. But being unfamiliar with the customs in this part of the world, I soon found myself beaten and robbed; the city guard arrived before I could be violated, which was the second time in my life that the gods had saved me from such a fate. But having nowhere to go, and no money, I took the only work that an unmarried woman could find in a city like Dyvers: I became a barmaid. That was 2 years ago... Since then, I've lived in fear, despair, and hopelessness. I was often chastised by Vex and by the type of patrons his bar attracted, for being too cynical, and too suspicious, too slow to trust. Ha! I gave no reply to such accusations, because I knew my words would fall on deaf ears. The betrayal of my cousin cut deeply into my soul, but it wasn't until I started working for Vex that I learned how to size people up, and discover </span><span style="color: #FF0000">their true intentions. I have learned to lie, cheat, and steal, not for self-indulgence, but for the simple purpose of survival in this evil pit; life here is harsher than it ever was in the so-called (by your kind) wasteland that my people hail from."</span></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Vega concludes by saying,</strong><span style="color: #ff0000">"I have not seen Elgin since he left me in Dyvers, two years ago. I know that Elgin makes his home in the Dwarven Fortress of Greysmere, near the Barony of The Five, and that he does a lot of trading in Greyhawk, since he maintains a summer cottage there. That had been the reason that I wanted to journey there; I was looking to find a friend. But I think I have already achieved that, here with you all. So here's where I'll stay."</span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Vega (To Sylvar):</strong> <span style="color: #ff0000">"Count yourself lucky; despite the proximity of our respective lands, the Cruski, Schnai, and Fruztii peoples have very different customs when it comes to the taking of captives. The Cruski honor the old traditions; they are mostly farmers, except in years where the weather produces a weak or insufficient harvest. It is on these years that raids are conducted; and captives are never taken on a raid, unless it serves a purpose. If a woman is taken captive, it is because the captor intends to have her as a wife. If a child is taken captive, it is because the captor has no children, and wants to adopt the child as his own. The elderly are never taken captive, out of respect. If a man is taken captive, it is because the captor needs help in some way; if his farm is short-handed, he might take a captive to help him work the farm. If the captor has no brothers, or not many friends, he might take a captive to fill that role. But no matter the underlying reason, the theme remains the same: the Cruski peoples take captives to make their tribe stronger. Such captives are never mistreated, and always eventually earn their freedom, by which time, most are reluctant to leave their new tribe, whom they have come to love and respect."</span></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Vega pauses a moment, before continuing.</strong> <strong>You can tell that speaking of this deeply affects her.</strong><span style="color: #ff0000">"The Schnai have no honor; they are the weakest of the tribes, for they lack unity of purpose, as well as lacking a respect for the true gods; they revere the Suel gods, a pantheon of beings who came to power during a time when the true gods of Asgard were occupied elsewhere. The Suel gods are petty and capricious, although for the most part, not truly evil. The Schnai worship a deity known as Vatun, who encourages raiding for the sake of plunder and excess gain, and also a contempt for farming and ranching. Vatun was said to be imprisoned long ago, by clerics of Telchur, another Suel deity whose dogma is no better. The Schnai revere Telchur also, although such worshipers are in the minority."</span></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Vega, Continuing:</strong> <span style="color: #ff0000">"Of course, my people, The Fruztii, once took captives in the same way as The Cruski; but in times past, about 300 years ago, my people decided that taking captives diluted the tribe's blood, so they stopped doing so for the purposes of acquiring wives and children. Only men are taken captive now, and mostly for the purposes of labor. My people treat such captives with honor, and like the Cruski, my people will allow a captive to earn his freedom. Such captives are always well-treated; and it is for this reason that my blood boils against my cousin Hrothgar. By selling me to a foreigner, with the knowledge that I would be abused and ill-treated, he violated every principle and every belief that my people hold dear. He could have adopted me as his daughter, since I am of pure Fruztii lineage, and forced me to be an apprentice, serving him for 10 years before he would be required by tribal law to teach me the shamanic ways. And there would have been honor in doing so. But his vanity would not allow him to be eclipsed by his pupil, so he sold me in secret. I would imagine that he told the people that I left of my own accord. He probably does not expect to ever see me again. But he will; one day, when I feel strong enough to challenge him, I will return to my people, and expose his treachery, and take his life!"</span><span style="color: #008080"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008080"></span>[/gm]<span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"></span></p><p>[gm]</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Important Campaign History:</strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>The Tale of Maxwell Silverhammer.</strong></span></p><p></p><p></p><p>[ooc]The party met Maxwell at 6:30 pm, about an hour before sunset. The initial conversation with Vega took only 5 minutes. It took another 25 minutes for Maxwell to finish eating. At 7:00 pm, the party purchased the ale, and rented the dolly from the restaurant for a 2 day period (the minimum.) Maxwell is happy to be the one to wheel it along. The party reaches Westgate at about 7:15, and by 7:45, which is 15 minutes past sunset, they arrive in Moresby Hall; Mr. Farrin returns quickly to town, as per Dewydd's instructions. He reaches Westgate by 8:10, and he reaches the Cartographer's Guild at 8:30, just as they are closing for the evening. Mr. Farrin convinces the Guildmaster to allow him a quick purchase; he quickly hands over 6 platinum and 5 gold for the regional map that Dewydd wanted, and bids the man good evening. This takes a mere 5 minutes. Luckily, the general sundries store is just across the street, and Mr. Farrin has some incredible luck: he catches the shop owner as he is locking up as well, and with a little "rare metal persuasion" (add 10% to the standard cost of these goods) he convinces the shop owner to allow him to come in and gather Dewydd's requested supplies. By 9:00 pm, Mr. Farrin is on his way back, with all supplies in-hand; he pays a city guardsman who is just coming off duty 5 gp. to escort him back to Moresby Hall; after all, it is now dark, and he is unarmed, and alone. The guard agrees, since it is such a short trip, and he'd like to have extra money for drinking at the tavern, which he plans to do before returning to his barracks. Mr. Farrin arrives at 9:45 pm, at which point, Maxwell has been talking for about 30 minutes...[/ooc]</p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Maxwell (To The Party, In Common):</strong> <span style="color: #ff0000">"There were 7 of us, two Humans, a couple of brothers named Earl and James Miller, and then there was myself, and two other Dwarves from the New Kingdom, Trevin Ironspear, and Gavin Goldbraid. Then there was the Elf, a big fella' named Mallin Quickblade, and last, but not least, the most honorable of the group, ironically: a Half-Orc by the name of Kromdek Shieldbreaker. Every one of us was a scrapper, hungry for a fight. We thought we'd be unstoppable... We wiped out a whole tribe of marauding Goblins in the Kron Hills, and people called us heroes."</span></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Maxwell takes a long swig of ale, as if he hopes it will give him the courage to continue:</strong> <span style="color: #ff0000">"I told 'em to stick to the living. I'm older than any of you, I says, even the Elf, I says. Goblins are one thing, the undead are quite another, I says. And you know what they did? THEY LAUGHED! The fool Elf bragged about his Greatsword, and how nothing could stand against it; Trevin bragged about his spear, saying that zombies would never get past its reach. Even the Miller Boys laughed, calling me 'too cautious,' and asking if 'maybe I should consider retiring'! So... fine, I says, let's have at it then. So we went; we loaded up on grain for the horses, and food and beer for ourselves, like we were going on a damned picnic! Not one of them purchased a single vial of Holy Water! Nor Alchemist Fire! You'd have thought we were going to visit relatives!"</span></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Maxwell chuckles halfheartedly, taking another big swig.</strong><span style="color: #ff0000">"When we got there, we found almost nothing. The place had apparently been picked clean. There were a few humanoid corpses, and a few Human and Demihuman corpses, none of which had any gear worth salvaging. Apparently, Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Orcs still frequent the area, and it's my guess that the adventurers coming out there to hunt undead ran afoul of them. Anyways, none of the corpses looked to be in danger of rising as undead. They were just your run-of-the-mill, stinky, bloody corpses. We scouted the place, and near the south end of town was where we found something peculiar... There was this big well. It was obviously the main well for the village, back when this place was alive. But there was this big statue in front of it, must've been about 9 feet tall, made entirely of clay. The statue was ugly as sin; it looked like a person, but whoever the sculptor was, made it disfigured and creepy. Its arms were too long, and so were its legs. We had no idea at that time what it was. Anyways, I says, is the well still usable? I'm a bit parched, I says. We all go and look, and as soon as we get near it, we can smell fresh death, the smell that comes from LOTS of dead bodies piled in a single place. Not the smell of a battlefield, where the corpses are scattered about. The smell of a freshly dug / not complete mass grave. We look down the well, which was about 10 feet in diameter, and we can see that it went about 30 feet down. At the bottom, there was all these spikes, and there was people impaled on 'em, still wiggling around and moaning, trying to get off 'em! There were also walking corpses, what Human folk call 'Zombies,' and 'Skeletons,' milling about. But they were all at the bottom of the pit, about 50 of 'em, and didn't seem to be aware of the fact that we were watching them from above."</span></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Maxwell fixes a cold stare at each party member before continuing:</strong> <span style="color: #ff0000">"That's when the fool Elf says, 'it's like fish in a barrel, let's get some rope and go down there, and round us up some easy coin!' Can you believe that? He wasn't scared at all; dead folks walking about didn't phase him in the least. I was about to scold him, when we all hear this voice behind us, that says, 'I don't have any rope, but perhaps I could lend you boys a strand or two of webbing?' that's when we turn to see that while we poking our noses down the well, this HUGE spider and his little spiderlings had all crept up behind us! And the blasted thing could TALK!"</span></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH]76765[/ATTACH]</p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>This is how Maxwell describes the spider who is talking.</strong></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Maxwell looks really upset, trying to take another big swig, but only managing a mouthful, because of his shaky hands.</strong> <span style="color: #ff0000">"The other little spiderlings were the size of small dogs; there must've been about 30 of 'em. But this big, talking thing was truly scary. I knew we was in trouble when it talked to us. I could feel that something wasn't right. Then Mallin goes and speaks some blasted spell! It was only a single word, and all it did was make Mallin's eyes glow, but it upset the talkin' spider something fierce! So they all charge us, the big one and the little ones, too, and as we engage them, the statue starts to move! And its eyes light up with blue fire! ... We squished a lot of the spiderlings, pretty easy. But the blasted statue grabbed both of the Miller boys, one at a time, and threw them both down the stinkin' well! Both of 'em met their end on those spikes. The fall was brutal, but I imagine the spikes were poisoned, too. I couldn't believe my eyes! I hammered the statue over and over again with my trusty mallet, to no avail. It was like I couldn't hurt 'em. Or if I did, he didn't react at all. A couple of folks around here have said that it must have been a Clay Golem, but I don't know if they're right or not. All I know is, the statue was hard to deal with, even after we all started concentrating our efforts against it. We ignored the spiderlings; it was me and Trevin and Gavin on the statue, and Mallin and Kromdek on the big talker. That's when things got weird..."</span></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Maxwell pauses a moment, with a tear in his eye.</strong> <span style="color: #ff0000">"The big talker looks at Mallin, and says, 'come, surface Elf, do my bidding!' and the next thing we know, the big Elf is swinging his sword at Kromdek! That damned Greatsword was nearly Kromdek's end! That's when we all fled, each of us in different directions. I don't know what foul magic that talkin' bug was using, but I knew that if we fought it out, we were doomed. I think the other fellas got the same idea, too. We all kinda fled at the same time. We re-grouped a week later at the Minotaur & Kobold, and that's when all the squabbling began. Me and the half-breed both wanted to go back, and try to fish out the bodies of the Miller Boys, before they rise as undead. It ain't right to leave a brother-in-arms behind, even if he's dead. But the others wanted no part of it. And those two have the nerve to call themselves Dwarves! But no matter... I suggested we find Mallin also, and try to free him from whatever spell it was that the spider put on him, but even Kromdek was against that one... So I called them all cowards, they all called me crazy and suicidal, and after making a scene in the restaurant, we all went our separate ways. Three days passed; I had stopped for a hot meal and one last plate of cheesecake when you folks found me today. The rest of the Seven are scattered, like dry leaves in the wind. I got a cousin just up the road by the name of <strong>Vale Stonegallows</strong>; he's staying in the village of Caltaran, about 45 miles west of here. He was on his way to join us on our trip to Skorane, but he got delayed. He sent word by courier that he would need to stop a few days in Caltaran, while his foot healed. Apparently, he got some sort of infection that gave even him a hard time trying to heal it. He's a cleric, ya know. Acolyte of Clangeddin. Solid sort of fellow. I wish we had been able to take him with us to Skorane. An extra weapon in that fight might have made a difference. Anyway, since he came all this way, I figured I'd go escort him home. It's the least I could do. It's been awhile since I've seen our ancestral halls. When I go back, I might just go back to stay."</span></p><p>[/gm]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tellerian Hawke, post: 6895113, member: 6790669"] [CENTER][SIZE=5][B]Summary of the Campaign Thusfar:[/B][/SIZE][/CENTER] [B]1. [/B]The party came together quite by accident, just before dawn on Patchwall 9, CY 963, in a basement tavern known as [I][B]The Godless Rogue[/B][/I]. [B]2.[/B] There was a bar fight, in which many patrons, as well as the tavern owner himself, died as a result of swordplay. The party, of course, was swept up into the middle of it all. [B]3.[/B] [B]Vega[/B], the barmaid, joined the party, seeing no future for herself if things were left as-is. [B]4.[/B] The party meets [B]Pallender Nightwind[/B], and they are promised future employment. [B]5.[/B] The party decides to turn in [B]Alec [/B]and [B]Alwin[/B] for the bounty on their heads. [B]6.[/B] On their way to turn them in, the party encounters [B]5 pirate crewmen[/B] who are friends of Alec and Alwin; a brawl ensues, out in the open, on the streets of Dyvers! [B]7.[/B] The party spends a little time sorting things out, and talking to the city guard. They are introduced to [B]Lieutenant Benquist[/B], second-in-command of the Dyvers City Watch. [B]8. [/B]The party heads to Dewydd's mansion, [B]Moresby Hall[/B], just outside of the city proper, through the West Gate. [B]9.[/B] The party meets and befriends [B]Sylvar Belanor[/B], a wayward bard; Sylvar joins the party. [B]10.[/B] Vega tells her story. [B](See below.)[/B] [B]11.[/B] The party meets and befriends [B]Lathir The Wild[/B], a wandering druid. Lathir joins the party. [B]12.[/B] The party goes back to Dyvers on Sylvar's recommendation, to see if they can find members of [B]The Seven of Steel[/B], who have reportedly suffered badly in their recent expedition to the[B] Village of Skorane.[/B] [B]13. [/B]The party finds the leader of the Seven, a Dwarf known as [B]Maxwell Silverhammer[/B]. Maxwell shares his story with the party. [B](See below.)[/B] [B]14.[/B] The party decides to help escort Maxwell to the [B]Village of Caltaran[/B]. Once there, they hope to recruit [B]Vale Stonegallows[/B] to help them. [B]15.[/B] The party has two encounters on the way to Caltaran; the first is a pair of [B]Manticores[/B] being ridden by [B]Fiendish Orcs[/B], wearing [B]Pomarj [/B]insignia. The second is with a lone assassin named [B]Vaelik The Deathblade[/B], who was masquerading as [B]Sheriff Denby Fairweather[/B]. [B]16. [/B]The party arrives in Caltaran, where they meet up with Vale Stonegallows, who offers to cast [B]Speak With Dead[/B], so that they can attempt to find out more about their slain enemies. [gm] [CENTER][SIZE=4][B][FONT=arial]A FEW FACTS ABOUT CALTARAN:[/FONT] [/B][/SIZE][/CENTER] [FONT=arial][COLOR=#0000ff][B]1.[/B][/COLOR] [COLOR=#0000ff][B]A patrol of 40 Dyvers Regulars (Cavalry) comes through town every third day. [/B][/COLOR]The patrol is led by a well-known Cavalier named [B]Sir Lawrence Hartford[/B], aka "The Fierce Lieutenant."[/FONT] [FONT=arial][COLOR=#0000ff][B]2.[/B][/COLOR] [COLOR=#0000ff][B]The town is walled, with a low, 6-foot high, wooden palisade,[/B][/COLOR] but the gates are usually open around the clock. There are two gates, a northern gate, and a southern gate.[/FONT] [FONT=arial][B][COLOR=#0000ff]3. There is one, around-the-clock law enforcement officer here: [/COLOR]Sheriff Sir Denby Fairweather[/B]; Sir Denby maintains an office on the main street. It is a two-story building; the first floor is his office, and a 3-cell jail. The second floor is his personal apartment. Sir Denby concerns himself mainly with the oversight and patrol of the surrounding farms, while relying on his deputies to run things in-town.[/FONT] [FONT=arial][COLOR=#0000ff][B]4.[/B] [/COLOR][B][COLOR=#0000ff]Sir Denby is served by 10 full-time (sun-up to sun-down) deputies, all of whom are young and green.[/COLOR] These deputies live in town. [/B]They conduct daily patrols, and are charged with maintaining order on a day-to-day basis. They are rarely at the gate; they concern themselves more with patrolling the village's interior streets.[/FONT] [FONT=arial][COLOR=#0000ff][B]5.[/B][/COLOR] [COLOR=#0000ff][B]There are about[/B] [B]200 locals[/B][/COLOR] (men between the ages of 16 and 40) who are part of a [B]reserve volunteer militia[/B], whom can be called on in times of crisis. Most live in the village, but about 30 or so live on one of the many surrounding farms.[/FONT] [FONT=arial][B][COLOR=#0000ff]6. [/COLOR][COLOR=#0000ff]Caltaran has a reputation for being quiet and peaceful.[/COLOR][/B]It is home to a large [B]church of Saint Cuthbert[/B], which is run by a [B]Patriarch of Cuthbert[/B] known as [B]Father Xavier[/B]. The church is also home to [B]The Order of the Flaming Mace[/B], an order of knights who serve St. Cuthbert. There are 120 of these knights, who are very well-equipped, including 60 heavy warhorses with chainmail barding, and they have sworn to protect the village in times of need. Since the church (which is a veritable mini-fortress, occupying 2 whole acres of land inside the village) is located near the center of the village (within easy distance of either main gate) Sir Denby does not feel the need to post gate guards. Sometimes, Knights of the Flaming Mace can be seen around town, going about their business.[I][B] It is the presence of these knights (not Denby or his deputies, nor the reserve militia, nor the Dyvers Patrols) which makes the citizenry feel truly safe.[/B][/I] (Although the Dyvers Patrol is a v[/FONT][FONT=arial]ery capable force, which has run down many outlaws in the past.)[/FONT] [FONT=arial][COLOR=#0000ff][B]7.[/B] [/COLOR][COLOR=#0000ff][I][B]Despite the presence of the deputies, and of the knights[/B][/I],[/COLOR] roughly half of the businesses in town employ private security forces, "just in case." What this translates to is that when you walk into a place of business, you might see a lone, armored guard standing just inside the doors.[/FONT] [FONT=arial][COLOR=#0000ff][B]8.[/B][/COLOR] [COLOR=#0000ff][B]Things to do in Caltaran:[/B][/COLOR] there is a farmer's market which is open one day per week (every Freeday,) from sun-up 'til [/FONT][FONT=arial]noon[/FONT][FONT=arial]. There is one inn, one livery stable, one general store (food and tools), one blacksmith, one butcher, one baker, one jeweler, one leather tanner, one horse trainer, one dog trainer (who sells guard dogs), one tavern, one corral (where local beef ranchers bring their stock to sell), one tailor shop, one wainwright, two boot-makers, three restaurants, and one weaponsmith. There are also *many* small-scale, "carnival booth" antique / curiosity dealers, cart vendors (fruits and vegetables), and "street spoons" serving prepared food (basically, the medieval equivalent of hot dog vendors.)[/FONT] [/gm] [gm] [CENTER][SIZE=4][B]Important Campaign History: The Sergeant's Comment.[/B][/SIZE][/CENTER] [B]Sergeant (To Vega):[/B][COLOR=#ff0000] "Hmmm. This is very interesting. Thanks for the tip. Ya know, there's more than two Follsworth brothers; there's actually five of them: Algron, Andar, Artael, Alec, and Alwin. These two are the youngest. No one has seen Algron in a long while, but Andar and Artael already lead a large gang of outlaws, who have been operating in the Kron Hills region, raiding merchant traffic from Verbobonc to Dyvers. They're known to employ humanoids, Hobgoblins and the like. I suspect these two were in charge of expanding the operation here to Dyvers. If that's so, then their brothers are likely to come looking for them. I'll tell the captain to place these two in solitary, on the third level. You folks have done well. The City of Dyvers is in your debt."[/COLOR] [/gm] [gm] [CENTER][SIZE=4][B]Important Campaign History: Vega's Story. [/B][/SIZE] [ATTACH=CONFIG]76798._xfImport[/ATTACH][/CENTER] [B]Vega sighs, knowing this moment was coming. But she seems almost relieved to finally have a chance to speak her peace:[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"My name is Vega Claessdatter. I am the daughter of a [B]Fruztii [/B]Shaman known as Claes Larsson. For those that don't know, the Fruztii peoples are known by common parlance as 'Northmen,' or as 'Frost Barbarians," neither name of which my people approve. We hail from the *Great Middan Lands*, known as 'The Frozen North,' in common parlance, again, not a name that my people appreciate being saddled with. The peoples that you call the 'Ice, Snow, and Frost Barbarians,' are actually the Cruski, Schnai, and Fruztii peoples, respectively. But these are tribal names, which refer to the region in which each group of peoples live. We are all Cimmerian, proud descendants of Cromm, The Lost Brother of Odin."[/COLOR] [B]Vega pauses a moment, assessing the looks that she is getting from the rest of the party; seeing that she has your attention, and that no one has yet balked at her heritage, she continues:[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"I grew up learning to ride, hunt, fish, swim, ride, and handle horses. My father taught me an affinity for the Earth, and for the Sky, the two places where he said that magic truly came from. My father taught me to respect the ways of Odin; but he said even the gods themselves get their magic from the Earth and from the Sky. Odin gained his ability to foresee the future from the World Tree (an aspect of the Earth, or 'Middangeard') after hanging himself from its branches. [B]The Weave[/B] is the force of magic, and it flows from the Earth, and into the Sky, permeating the world. My father taught me how to read our ancestral Fruztii runes, and how to connect to magical totems through the Kul'Tuk, which means "the merging of the mind with The Weave." By "merging" with an item, I can sometimes figure out how the item works, and how to invoke its power. I have already become quite good at doing so."[/COLOR] [B]Vega takes a deep breath; it is evident that she has reached the 'difficult part' of what she has to say:[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"When my father died of old age, I journeyed to my cousin Hrothgar's village, in hopes of joining the family there. But Hrothgar, who was also a shaman, was jealous of my natural ability with The Weave, and sold me into slavery, after drugging my mead. I was only 15 years old,"[/COLOR] [B]she says, with a tear in her eye.[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"I ended up as a concubine for a greedy merchant from Ket, known as Habib Ibn Khalad, and I was with him for many years. Fortunately, Habib's harem was so large, that he never actually had the chance to lie with me. This was partly due to the fact that he had purchased me for use by his son, who had not yet come of age."[/COLOR] [B]You can feel the seething bitterness coming from Vega as she says this, although there is also an undertone of thankfulness, since the powers that be spared her the fate of being raped. Still, it is evident from her tone, that the time she spent in the harem was not pleasant, nor was it easy. After all, slavery is still slavery, no matter how one cuts it.[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"Before I could be abused in that way, I managed to escape, with the aid of a Dwarven merchant named Elgin Coalbeard, who had been visiting Lopolla on business. I stayed with him for several years, working as a servant, and he treated me quite well. When I asked to leave his employ, he graciously agreed, and gave me 200 gp. with which to make a new start. It was while I was in Elgin's employ that I learned to speak Dwarvish."[/COLOR] [B]Vega pauses again to compose herself, before continuing:[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"I journeyed with Elgin until reaching Dyvers, where I decided quite foolishly to make my new start. I was 22 when I arrived in Dyvers, seeking my fortune. But being unfamiliar with the customs in this part of the world, I soon found myself beaten and robbed; the city guard arrived before I could be violated, which was the second time in my life that the gods had saved me from such a fate. But having nowhere to go, and no money, I took the only work that an unmarried woman could find in a city like Dyvers: I became a barmaid. That was 2 years ago... Since then, I've lived in fear, despair, and hopelessness. I was often chastised by Vex and by the type of patrons his bar attracted, for being too cynical, and too suspicious, too slow to trust. Ha! I gave no reply to such accusations, because I knew my words would fall on deaf ears. The betrayal of my cousin cut deeply into my soul, but it wasn't until I started working for Vex that I learned how to size people up, and discover [/COLOR][COLOR=#FF0000]their true intentions. I have learned to lie, cheat, and steal, not for self-indulgence, but for the simple purpose of survival in this evil pit; life here is harsher than it ever was in the so-called (by your kind) wasteland that my people hail from."[/COLOR] [B]Vega concludes by saying,[/B][COLOR=#ff0000]"I have not seen Elgin since he left me in Dyvers, two years ago. I know that Elgin makes his home in the Dwarven Fortress of Greysmere, near the Barony of The Five, and that he does a lot of trading in Greyhawk, since he maintains a summer cottage there. That had been the reason that I wanted to journey there; I was looking to find a friend. But I think I have already achieved that, here with you all. So here's where I'll stay."[/COLOR] [B]Vega (To Sylvar):[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"Count yourself lucky; despite the proximity of our respective lands, the Cruski, Schnai, and Fruztii peoples have very different customs when it comes to the taking of captives. The Cruski honor the old traditions; they are mostly farmers, except in years where the weather produces a weak or insufficient harvest. It is on these years that raids are conducted; and captives are never taken on a raid, unless it serves a purpose. If a woman is taken captive, it is because the captor intends to have her as a wife. If a child is taken captive, it is because the captor has no children, and wants to adopt the child as his own. The elderly are never taken captive, out of respect. If a man is taken captive, it is because the captor needs help in some way; if his farm is short-handed, he might take a captive to help him work the farm. If the captor has no brothers, or not many friends, he might take a captive to fill that role. But no matter the underlying reason, the theme remains the same: the Cruski peoples take captives to make their tribe stronger. Such captives are never mistreated, and always eventually earn their freedom, by which time, most are reluctant to leave their new tribe, whom they have come to love and respect."[/COLOR] [B]Vega pauses a moment, before continuing.[/B] [B]You can tell that speaking of this deeply affects her.[/B][COLOR=#ff0000]"The Schnai have no honor; they are the weakest of the tribes, for they lack unity of purpose, as well as lacking a respect for the true gods; they revere the Suel gods, a pantheon of beings who came to power during a time when the true gods of Asgard were occupied elsewhere. The Suel gods are petty and capricious, although for the most part, not truly evil. The Schnai worship a deity known as Vatun, who encourages raiding for the sake of plunder and excess gain, and also a contempt for farming and ranching. Vatun was said to be imprisoned long ago, by clerics of Telchur, another Suel deity whose dogma is no better. The Schnai revere Telchur also, although such worshipers are in the minority."[/COLOR] [B]Vega, Continuing:[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"Of course, my people, The Fruztii, once took captives in the same way as The Cruski; but in times past, about 300 years ago, my people decided that taking captives diluted the tribe's blood, so they stopped doing so for the purposes of acquiring wives and children. Only men are taken captive now, and mostly for the purposes of labor. My people treat such captives with honor, and like the Cruski, my people will allow a captive to earn his freedom. Such captives are always well-treated; and it is for this reason that my blood boils against my cousin Hrothgar. By selling me to a foreigner, with the knowledge that I would be abused and ill-treated, he violated every principle and every belief that my people hold dear. He could have adopted me as his daughter, since I am of pure Fruztii lineage, and forced me to be an apprentice, serving him for 10 years before he would be required by tribal law to teach me the shamanic ways. And there would have been honor in doing so. But his vanity would not allow him to be eclipsed by his pupil, so he sold me in secret. I would imagine that he told the people that I left of my own accord. He probably does not expect to ever see me again. But he will; one day, when I feel strong enough to challenge him, I will return to my people, and expose his treachery, and take his life!"[/COLOR][COLOR=#008080] [/COLOR][/gm][COLOR=#000000] [/COLOR] [gm] [CENTER][SIZE=4][B]Important Campaign History: The Tale of Maxwell Silverhammer.[/B][/SIZE][/CENTER] [ooc]The party met Maxwell at 6:30 pm, about an hour before sunset. The initial conversation with Vega took only 5 minutes. It took another 25 minutes for Maxwell to finish eating. At 7:00 pm, the party purchased the ale, and rented the dolly from the restaurant for a 2 day period (the minimum.) Maxwell is happy to be the one to wheel it along. The party reaches Westgate at about 7:15, and by 7:45, which is 15 minutes past sunset, they arrive in Moresby Hall; Mr. Farrin returns quickly to town, as per Dewydd's instructions. He reaches Westgate by 8:10, and he reaches the Cartographer's Guild at 8:30, just as they are closing for the evening. Mr. Farrin convinces the Guildmaster to allow him a quick purchase; he quickly hands over 6 platinum and 5 gold for the regional map that Dewydd wanted, and bids the man good evening. This takes a mere 5 minutes. Luckily, the general sundries store is just across the street, and Mr. Farrin has some incredible luck: he catches the shop owner as he is locking up as well, and with a little "rare metal persuasion" (add 10% to the standard cost of these goods) he convinces the shop owner to allow him to come in and gather Dewydd's requested supplies. By 9:00 pm, Mr. Farrin is on his way back, with all supplies in-hand; he pays a city guardsman who is just coming off duty 5 gp. to escort him back to Moresby Hall; after all, it is now dark, and he is unarmed, and alone. The guard agrees, since it is such a short trip, and he'd like to have extra money for drinking at the tavern, which he plans to do before returning to his barracks. Mr. Farrin arrives at 9:45 pm, at which point, Maxwell has been talking for about 30 minutes...[/ooc] [B]Maxwell (To The Party, In Common):[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"There were 7 of us, two Humans, a couple of brothers named Earl and James Miller, and then there was myself, and two other Dwarves from the New Kingdom, Trevin Ironspear, and Gavin Goldbraid. Then there was the Elf, a big fella' named Mallin Quickblade, and last, but not least, the most honorable of the group, ironically: a Half-Orc by the name of Kromdek Shieldbreaker. Every one of us was a scrapper, hungry for a fight. We thought we'd be unstoppable... We wiped out a whole tribe of marauding Goblins in the Kron Hills, and people called us heroes."[/COLOR] [B]Maxwell takes a long swig of ale, as if he hopes it will give him the courage to continue:[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"I told 'em to stick to the living. I'm older than any of you, I says, even the Elf, I says. Goblins are one thing, the undead are quite another, I says. And you know what they did? THEY LAUGHED! The fool Elf bragged about his Greatsword, and how nothing could stand against it; Trevin bragged about his spear, saying that zombies would never get past its reach. Even the Miller Boys laughed, calling me 'too cautious,' and asking if 'maybe I should consider retiring'! So... fine, I says, let's have at it then. So we went; we loaded up on grain for the horses, and food and beer for ourselves, like we were going on a damned picnic! Not one of them purchased a single vial of Holy Water! Nor Alchemist Fire! You'd have thought we were going to visit relatives!"[/COLOR] [B]Maxwell chuckles halfheartedly, taking another big swig.[/B][COLOR=#ff0000]"When we got there, we found almost nothing. The place had apparently been picked clean. There were a few humanoid corpses, and a few Human and Demihuman corpses, none of which had any gear worth salvaging. Apparently, Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Orcs still frequent the area, and it's my guess that the adventurers coming out there to hunt undead ran afoul of them. Anyways, none of the corpses looked to be in danger of rising as undead. They were just your run-of-the-mill, stinky, bloody corpses. We scouted the place, and near the south end of town was where we found something peculiar... There was this big well. It was obviously the main well for the village, back when this place was alive. But there was this big statue in front of it, must've been about 9 feet tall, made entirely of clay. The statue was ugly as sin; it looked like a person, but whoever the sculptor was, made it disfigured and creepy. Its arms were too long, and so were its legs. We had no idea at that time what it was. Anyways, I says, is the well still usable? I'm a bit parched, I says. We all go and look, and as soon as we get near it, we can smell fresh death, the smell that comes from LOTS of dead bodies piled in a single place. Not the smell of a battlefield, where the corpses are scattered about. The smell of a freshly dug / not complete mass grave. We look down the well, which was about 10 feet in diameter, and we can see that it went about 30 feet down. At the bottom, there was all these spikes, and there was people impaled on 'em, still wiggling around and moaning, trying to get off 'em! There were also walking corpses, what Human folk call 'Zombies,' and 'Skeletons,' milling about. But they were all at the bottom of the pit, about 50 of 'em, and didn't seem to be aware of the fact that we were watching them from above."[/COLOR] [B]Maxwell fixes a cold stare at each party member before continuing:[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"That's when the fool Elf says, 'it's like fish in a barrel, let's get some rope and go down there, and round us up some easy coin!' Can you believe that? He wasn't scared at all; dead folks walking about didn't phase him in the least. I was about to scold him, when we all hear this voice behind us, that says, 'I don't have any rope, but perhaps I could lend you boys a strand or two of webbing?' that's when we turn to see that while we poking our noses down the well, this HUGE spider and his little spiderlings had all crept up behind us! And the blasted thing could TALK!"[/COLOR] [CENTER] [ATTACH=CONFIG]76765._xfImport[/ATTACH] [B]This is how Maxwell describes the spider who is talking.[/B][/CENTER] [B]Maxwell looks really upset, trying to take another big swig, but only managing a mouthful, because of his shaky hands.[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"The other little spiderlings were the size of small dogs; there must've been about 30 of 'em. But this big, talking thing was truly scary. I knew we was in trouble when it talked to us. I could feel that something wasn't right. Then Mallin goes and speaks some blasted spell! It was only a single word, and all it did was make Mallin's eyes glow, but it upset the talkin' spider something fierce! So they all charge us, the big one and the little ones, too, and as we engage them, the statue starts to move! And its eyes light up with blue fire! ... We squished a lot of the spiderlings, pretty easy. But the blasted statue grabbed both of the Miller boys, one at a time, and threw them both down the stinkin' well! Both of 'em met their end on those spikes. The fall was brutal, but I imagine the spikes were poisoned, too. I couldn't believe my eyes! I hammered the statue over and over again with my trusty mallet, to no avail. It was like I couldn't hurt 'em. Or if I did, he didn't react at all. A couple of folks around here have said that it must have been a Clay Golem, but I don't know if they're right or not. All I know is, the statue was hard to deal with, even after we all started concentrating our efforts against it. We ignored the spiderlings; it was me and Trevin and Gavin on the statue, and Mallin and Kromdek on the big talker. That's when things got weird..."[/COLOR] [B]Maxwell pauses a moment, with a tear in his eye.[/B] [COLOR=#ff0000]"The big talker looks at Mallin, and says, 'come, surface Elf, do my bidding!' and the next thing we know, the big Elf is swinging his sword at Kromdek! That damned Greatsword was nearly Kromdek's end! That's when we all fled, each of us in different directions. I don't know what foul magic that talkin' bug was using, but I knew that if we fought it out, we were doomed. I think the other fellas got the same idea, too. We all kinda fled at the same time. We re-grouped a week later at the Minotaur & Kobold, and that's when all the squabbling began. Me and the half-breed both wanted to go back, and try to fish out the bodies of the Miller Boys, before they rise as undead. It ain't right to leave a brother-in-arms behind, even if he's dead. But the others wanted no part of it. And those two have the nerve to call themselves Dwarves! But no matter... I suggested we find Mallin also, and try to free him from whatever spell it was that the spider put on him, but even Kromdek was against that one... So I called them all cowards, they all called me crazy and suicidal, and after making a scene in the restaurant, we all went our separate ways. Three days passed; I had stopped for a hot meal and one last plate of cheesecake when you folks found me today. The rest of the Seven are scattered, like dry leaves in the wind. I got a cousin just up the road by the name of [B]Vale Stonegallows[/B]; he's staying in the village of Caltaran, about 45 miles west of here. He was on his way to join us on our trip to Skorane, but he got delayed. He sent word by courier that he would need to stop a few days in Caltaran, while his foot healed. Apparently, he got some sort of infection that gave even him a hard time trying to heal it. He's a cleric, ya know. Acolyte of Clangeddin. Solid sort of fellow. I wish we had been able to take him with us to Skorane. An extra weapon in that fight might have made a difference. Anyway, since he came all this way, I figured I'd go escort him home. It's the least I could do. It's been awhile since I've seen our ancestral halls. When I go back, I might just go back to stay."[/COLOR] [/gm] [/QUOTE]
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GREYHAWK: The Golden Era CY963: A1-P1-S2 [RESTORED CAMPAIGN THREAD]
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